The Spotted Lanternfly Has Arrived. We Must Prepare!

Spotted Lanternfly First Spotted in PA

The Spotted Lanternfly, which first arrived in Pennsylvania with some landscaping stone brought in from China in 2012, has decimated Pennsylvania’s vineyards and fruit farms, and they are spreading this way!

If SLF spread throughout Pennsylvania, then the expected losses would amount to $324.9 million annually with a loss of 2,810 jobs. Under the worst-case scenario, losses would increase to $554.0 million, with a loss of 4,987 jobs.”

https://www.rural.pa.gov/getfile.cfm?file=Resources/PDFs/research-report/Exec-Summary-Spotted-Lanternfly-2019.pdf&view=true#:~:text=If%20SLF%20spread%20throughout%20Penn,a%20loss%20of%204%2C987%20jobs.

The Economic and Ecological Damage Will Be Severe

Now the Spotted Lanternfly is spreading in all directions. Unchecked, it is predicted to cost the Pennsylvania economy $300+ annually with 2800 jobs lost. Beyond that, it is predicted that the Spotted Lanternfly will reach California’s vineyards by 2033. The annual economic costs nationally could run into the billions. Most ominously for us, they’ve been travelled eastward, from PA to NJ to NYC and to LI. These insects comes in swarms and have no natural enemies.

Call to Action: Get Informed

So what are we to do?

Cornell Cooperative Extension can always be counted upon to have solid content. There’s one a in every county in New York State. Find yours here. Here is their take on The Spotted Lanternfly.

We would also recommend reading what New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation on The Spotted Lanternfly. Their work on getting the word out about invasive plants has been commendable, starting with their Emmy Award Winning Uninvited (2022)

The Spotted Lanternfly: Foreseeing the Inevitable

Sad to say, we knew this day was coming.

We knew of the link between The Spotted Lanternfly and The Tree of Heaven. Both are from the same region of China. For the SLF, this is home cooking. We wrote of the biological link between Tree of Heaven and The Spotted Lanternfly last year. We said then and we will say it now: We need to battle to remove these invasive species before they overwhelm us. We are losing badly in a battle we don’t even know we are fighting. Here is a clear case where with some broad public awareness and some active measures to kill this tree, we could at least limit the coming damage.

Could Common Milkweed Save The Vineyards and our yards?

The Tree of Heaven makes the Spotted Lanternfly inedible the same way that Monarchs are rendered toxic to eat when they feed on common milkweed. So anywhere we find a Tree of Heaven, we must at least girdle it — make a cut all around the base of the tree. The roots then must be contended with. The larger ones will require mechanical removal.

As I mentioned in last July’s post on the SLF and it’s connection to the TOH, we do have something we at least have to try: Call it anecdotal, call it conjecture, but common milkweed kills Spotted Lanternflies They are not from here. They don’t know NOT to eat it! Check out your common milkweed, and tell us if there’s a pile of dead SLFs below it!

Apparently, one Pennsylvania vineyard has planted along its perimeter Common Milkweed,and has weathered the infestation quite well!

Here is the recommended first step:

Find out where it is growing on properties in your town. Perhaps a scout troop canvases the neighborhood, and then that is mapped for removal. You should note the porcelainberry, the multiflora rose, the japanese honeysuckle and the oriental bittersweet, all invasive and part of our Dirty Dozen worst invasive plants.